


we sang along to the start of forever

by eatyourwords



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, I guess a bit, M/M, Songfic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-20
Updated: 2014-04-20
Packaged: 2018-01-20 02:08:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1492798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eatyourwords/pseuds/eatyourwords
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Harry takes a step closer, one then two, and presses right into Louis's space, a hand coming to curl along the underside of his jaw.</i>
</p><p>  <i>"Finally," he breathes and leans in.</i></p><p>  <i>When their lips connect, Harry swears he can feel it radiating inside his bones. </i><br/> <br/> <br/>Or a fic loosely based on Paramore's Still Into You.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we sang along to the start of forever

“I love you,” he whispers into Harry’s collarbone as if it’s a secret meant only for the birds inked on Harry’s chest.

Harry smiles and brushes his lips low across Louis’s forehead. “I know.”

“Say it back," he murmurs, still muffled against Harry's skin.

“Say what back?” Louis can't see it, but the smirk Harry wears is audible. It crops up when the boy thinks he's being exceptionally clever, which he rarely is, but god help him, Louis loves him anyways.

“You know what.” He bites down onto the smooth skin there in retribution.

Harry ducks his head, so his mouth is right against Louis’s ear. “You know what,” he whispers sensually, nipping quickly at his ear before retreating in laughter.

Between Harry throwing his head back and Louis’s hand connecting with Harry’s chest with a smack, there's enough space for Harry to get a good look at the scrunched expression Louis's sporting. His laughter immediately redoubles.

“You sicken me," Louis drawls, his hands curled against Harry's flank in fondness belying his words.

“Aw babe, are you love sick?" Harry coos, rubbing circles onto his side. "Did you catch the love bug?”

“And you wonder why I never get sentimental. You make fun of me for it every time I try,” he groans and half-heartedly pushes at his chest as Harry tries nuzzle into him.

"Doesn't mean I love you any less," he says, utterly content.

"Aha!" Louis crows. "Victory!"

In response, Harry's eyes sparkle like they have been every day he's gotten to be in Louis's orbit. He pulls him in closer.

"Oh, I'll show you victory."

 

 ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦

 

It goes like this:

A curly haired boy brackets his hands on either side of the sink, repeating to his reflection that he is not going to throw up. He had made it this far, more importantly this far without getting sick, thanks, and he only wanted to know what people think of his singing, so being approved by the first production hand was good, and then the senior was better, and that’s two people more than he could have hoped for, but fuck, that does nothing to calm his nerves. This could air on television. They could they let him in because they knew he'd bomb it, anything to make good telly, and fuck, he's supposed to go out there and sing in front of the real live judges.

Oh god, he’s really going to be sick.

 ✦ ✧ ✦

It also goes like this:

“Why are you so antsy? You’re not due for another hour.”

The boy pulls a face beneath his fringe but can’t stop shifting his weight from foot to foot.

“Had too much to drink earlier, I think," he comments idly, flicking his hair back into place. He has trouble sitting still on the best of days, so too much water plus nerves isn't the best combination.

“Love, you are allowed to use the toilets. They're not having you on lockdown until you perform,” Joanna says lightly as she turns the page in her magazine.

He fish mouths at his mother before letting out a dramatic harrumph and stalking towards where he vaguely remembers seeing the lavatory sign, his mum’s chuckles trailing after him.

He rounds the corner, and hell no, he is not waiting in that line. He shudders at the thought of what the girls’ line must be like as he whirls around and hastens to find a different one. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a side corridor and crosses his fingers.

Sure enough, there one is, and the door swings opens easily for him.

“Yes,” he whispers to himself, taking in the lack of queue and rushing to get in front of a urinal.

 

 ✦ ✧ ✦

 

“Argh,” he says, wiping his mouth as the cubicle door clatters behind him. He pauses mid motion as his sight catches on the back of a boy who wasn’t there earlier, but judging by relieved sounds escaping him, the boy didn’t take any notice of him and his weak stomach. Which is good, Harry assures himself, he wouldn’t want to be known as the ralpher before the competition's truly started. He beelines to his previous spot in front of the sink and washes his hands quickly. The boy finishes up by the urinal, and Harry ducks his head near the stream of water to both rinse his mouth and save himself from any toilet awkwardness.

It’s strategic.

✦ ✧ ✦

Oh, Louis thinks, those curls look familiar. He remembers catching his mum's arm and murmuring he’s going to go far with a jerk of his head just before the stage hand presented the grinning boy with a gold ticket.

Congratulations, Harry! his posse had crowed. Knew you'd get it!

Louis had smiled, turning away, feeling glad that someone as talented as this Harry lad had such a supportive group behind him.

Presently, he strides over to the only available sink, trying not to be creepy but half hoping to catch the boy’s eye.

He focuses on turning on the faucet, sudsing his hands, and not saying anything stupid.

“Hi,” drops out of Louis's mouth, to his surprise and apparently to the boy's. The handful of water that was supposed to splash on his face jerks… everywhere, basically.

“Oops,” the other boy grimaces. "Sorry.”

“S’alright,” The grin Louis sports is automatic, a direct result of him still feeling keyed up, he's sure. “I'm the one who scared you. You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you seem a little tense," he comments lightly while patting himself down with paper towel and slyly glancing up at the boy.

“It’s just the auditions, bit nervous is all," he fidgets with his own paper towel.

Louis frowns. “You’re nervous? If you’re nervous, there is no hope for the rest of us, mate.”

Harry frowns back at him. “What’d you mean?”

“I saw you sing earlier to one of the X Factor people? You were brilliant," he turns quickly and throws out the paper towel, thrown off a bit by his own sincerity.

“Yeah?” Harry questions so earnestly like the opinion of a boy in a toilet could possibly be that important to him.

“Yes, in fact,” he digs into his back pocket. “Would you do me the honour of being my first picture with a future star?”

Harry snorts, “Next you’re going to ask me for an autograph.” Louis’s eyes light up.

“Curls, voice, and smarts? The world won't know what hit it."

"You're not serious," Harry says, lips curling with a grin.

"Dead serious."

He shakes his head with a small grin. "Photo first?" he asks, waving a hand at Louis's phone.

Louis nods, only a second's hesitation before tossing an arm around Harry’s shoulder and letting his phone hang in the air in front of them.

"Ready?"

"Wait," Harry furrows his brow, deliberating for a moment before finding a good spot to wrap his arm around Louis. His expression clears. "All good."

Louis rolls his eyes and turns back to the phone.

They tilt their heads together with a smile and wait for the shutter click.

Hurriedly, Louis flips the phone around, so they both can lean in and examine the picture.

"Look alright?"

"I think it'll do," Harry approves with a nod.

"Excellent. Now, I think I have some paper right here… aha!" He shoves it along with a pen into Harry's hands. The boy looks like he's about to question it, but when he sees the first page filled with doodles, he nods his head like that's all the explanation he needs and flips to the first clean page.

Using the wall as a tabletop, Harry pauses, pen hovering a centimeter away. He glances at Louis. "What's your name?"

"Louis."

"Harry, nice to meet you," he gives a nod before determinedly pressing the tip to paper. "I've never done this before," he comments idly, watching his progress with the pen, bottom lip caught between his teeth. "Giving a signature, I mean."

Some part of Louis wonders if this encounter will stick in Harry's brain and if a few years from now he'll be flipping through channels and see a brown-haired man talking about how some bloke asked him for his autograph in the X-factor toilets, his very first one.

“Wouldn't want to send you out to the masses without some penmanship practice, now would we?”

"Never," Harry says, shoving the paper and pen back at him. "Look alright?"

Lou- Thanks for being my first -Harry. X

"It'll do," Louis beams.

✦ ✧ ✦

Harry feels completely settled by the time he leaves Louis's side.

He didn't get his number or anything beyond his name, but he did get a "Go on now. I can't sneak backstage at your first gig if you miss your audition."

Of course, he had replied, "Not if I sneak backstage at yours first."

The answering grin had Harry floating back to his mum and his friends.

He's pretty sure that means more than a string of digits.

So now he has two stagehands and a Louis behind him. A Louis who went out of his way to express his support, without being burdened by the obligation Harry's friends and family were under to support him. Louis just did because he heard Harry sing and thought him worthy and was the kind of person to express that to a total stranger.

And that? That was pretty great.

Simon Cowell, bring it on.

 

 ✦ ✧ ✦

 

But it really begins like this:

"Do you think we actually have a shot?"

The other boys had been skirting around the subject, playing off jokes that contained a touch too much of seriousness to be considered just joking. Alone in their bunks, though, Harry wants the only opinion that mattered to him.

"Well," Louis says slowly and quietly, not wanting to disturb the quiet around them, even if the other boys are scattered around the house. "Worst case scenario: we get sent home tomorrow. None of us ever talk again. We become the laughing sto-"

Harry elbows him, "Serious, Lou. Be serious."

"Do I think we really have a shot," he repeats and hums. "I think that this could be the best thing to ever happen to me, and," he hesitates, but this is Harry he's talking to, so he continues, "We just fit, don't we? There's something special here, and… you know, I didn't lie to you back in those toilets. You're still gonna be a star, yeah?"

Harry latches onto his wrist. "Not without you."

"Sure, Haz. Not without me," he humours him.

Harry shakes his head like Louis's being thick. "I've never had a proper best friend before, you know, and I-" He cuts himself off.

"What is it?" he nudges him.

"You're going to laugh at me," Harry pouts at Louis's darkened silhouette.

"I'm always laughing at you. That's never stopped you before."

He huffs but barrels on. "You're really great, Lou, and important to me, and I…"

"C'mon, love, spit it out."

"I've never wanted to kiss someone more." Louis doesn't laugh. He couldn't even if he wanted; the lump in his throat just got rather large.

He attempts to swallow, fails. "I'm with Hannah."

Harry turns to look resolutely at the ceiling. He twiddles his fingers as he contemplates its mysteries. "I know," he says.

"I can't cheat on her, Harry, I-"

"I know," he repeats himself, a hint more frustration in his voice. A part of him adores how faithful Louis is, even hours away, tucked in the darkness of their room, where no one would know. The other part, however, doesn't relish the idea that he could be alone in this.

Louis hesitates but presses a chaste kiss to Harry's cheek. It is all he can give him right now.

His whole body prickles with heat in response.

"There's still time." He settles back into the pillow, looking up at the ceiling as well. "We can go home tomorrow, but it's not going to be the end." He squeezes his hand, making it clear that he doesn't just mean the band thing. “Not by a long shot.”

"Okay," Harry says, and he believes him.

 

 ✦ ✧ ✦

 

The front door closes.

"Hello," Louis calls out, dropping his keys into the little dish Harry had insisted upon after the third time Louis tore apart the flat.

"'M in here." He drops his bag by the entrance, following the sound of Harry's voice into the living room.

Normally, Harry would already be asking how the trip went, how the girls were, if there was much traffic. This time, the only sounds in the room are coming out of the speakers and the light clicks from the controller that is hooked up to the video game console.

He hasn’t even looked away from the screen.

"Shrek?" Louis prompts, plopping down on the couch.

Harry glances over to see him sitting cross legged and completely turned towards him, steadfastly ignoring the second controller kicked under the coffee table.

"Yeah," he says, a bit warily, turning back to the game, "found it buried in the stacks."

"Ah."

He can still feel his gaze burning his cheek.

"A picture might last you longer," Harry prompts.

Louis hums in reply, still looking intently at the boy. "Ask me how my trip was," he commands, tone expectant.

"Lou-"

"It had its ups and its downs," he cuts over him. Harry jabs the pause button.

"What's going on?" he inquires, setting down the remote and looking over at Louis.

With the focused attention, he can't seem to meet Harry's eyes but refuses to duck in shyness.

"Hannah and I broke up," he pointedly tells a spot just over Harry's shoulder.

"Oh." He freezes, brain whirling to figure out how he's meant to react to that.

"It's okay if you don't feel the same way anymore," Louis rushes to say. "It doesn't have to make things weird, but just in case-"

"Louis." He holds up a hand.

"Yeah," he breathes, pulse racing.

"Stand up. Please."

Louis shakily detangles his legs and gets to his feet as Harry watches patiently, already standing. A beat passes, Harry just drinking in the sight of an unsure Louis twitching in front of him. Harry takes a step closer, one then two, and presses right into Louis's space, a hand coming to curl along the underside of his jaw.

"Finally," he breathes and leans in.

When their lips connect, Harry swears he can feel it radiating inside his bones.

 

✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦

 

It continues like this:

"Louis, please recite your vows."

“Harry," he begins, staring up at his boy. "It's been six years since I first laid eyes on you, and there were so many people, talented people there, but you were the one who stood out." He pauses and looks down, focusing on their entwined hands and how they're both slightly shaking, but it's good. It's always so, so good.

"I’m not serious about much in life, but with you, I’ve been there from the word go. You’re my absolute favorite person, and I’ve found that I'm happiest when I'm with you, getting to make you laugh.

"I didn’t always know quite what that meant, but you're the love of my life. You're everything good I wish I could be. You're patient and loving and more than a bit ridiculous," he says around a laugh, "but that's good because that means we can be ridiculous together." Harry wetly chuckles along with him.

"You constantly make me want to be a better person. Even if that means drinking weird juices and getting up way too early to watch you do yoga, somehow I want to do that because it's with you. But even when we were two kids in a singing competition, you constantly made me want to prove myself, to earn that spot by your side, and I don't see that ever changing.

"You're a special one, Harry Styles, and I'm so very happy to be making you my spouse today. I love you." He drops into a whisper, "For always."

By the end of the speech, Harry's lip is quivering as he fights both a blinding smile and a shower of tears.

He huffs and frees one hand to hastily swipe at his cheeks. “You were supposed to be the one to cry," he accuses.

Louis shakes his head warmly. “Give it time, love. Give it time.”

Harry focuses on his breathing and the feeling of Louis’s hands entwined with his.

“Louis, it’s no secret I’m a bit of a romantic. Oh shush, all of you," he jokingly reprimands the smiling, tearful faces of their loved ones.

He takes a steadying breath and continues, "It’s not a secret that for a long time, I’d been dreaming of the person I would get to spend my life with, and I was sixteen when I met you.

“You weren’t anything like I expected. You were a boy first off and loud. Sorry.” Louis snorts and bows his head in concession before looking up at his husband to be, eyes already more than shining. “But I was constantly in awe of you, whether you were loud and the center of everyone’s attention or reclining on the couch wrapped up in the latest season of X-Factor and just the center of mine. You" Harry smiles, big and slow, "lit up my world, my whole damn universe, like nobody else, baby,” he stresses with a squeeze to Louis's hands.

He snorts and shakes his head but can't manage to tame his smile. "We've been off tour for a few months, and you've already buggered up the lyrics."

"Hey now, it's my turn." Harry's eyes are sparkling as he swings their hands lightly back and forth. "The point is: it's been six years, and you're still the greatest, best, brightest thing in my life. You believed in me that first day, and after that, I never quite stopped believing in you or that you could be that person for me.

"It hasn't always been the easiest road for us, but I'm so, so happy that even after that, and after all we'll go through in the future, that I get to live my life alongside yours, let alone call you mine on top of all that. I love you more than anything, and," his voice drops to a whisper, thumb stroking fast swipes across the top of Louis's hand, "I can't fucking wait to grow old with you."

You bastard, Louis mouths, bringing their knotted hands up to brush against his lips, not bothering with the tears tracking down his face.

Harry beams back and squeezes his hands.

"It is time to exchange the rings."

 ✦ ✧ ✦

"Not only do I have the high honor and privilege of being the first speech tonight, but I've also been lucky enough to watch these two bastards grow from soppy, hormone driven teenagers to soppy, still too horny adults." The audience titters in their seats as Niall waggles his eyebrows at them.

"Now is as good of time as any to say that I've been banned from saying anything their grans would think is explicit." Niall pauses for laughter. "Mine and my gran's 'explicit' doesn't count, apparently.

"As a few of you might know, the five of us are in a band called One Direction, and we were in a little known singing competition called the X-Factor. Harry was the only one of these four hooligans I could convince to come to Ireland with me, and Harry, I never told you this, but I was directly involved in two major milestones in your relationship."

"Oh god," Louis says from behind his hands.

"Go on," Harry calls, rubbing the shoulder blades of his now-husband's back.

"If you haven't realized, these two are downright possessive of each other, even right from the beginning. Louis calls me on Skype, and the first thing out of his mouth is 'Is Harry there' like the fucking obsessed bastard he is. Like he didn't even care to see ol' Nialler! We talked for a bit, and I ended up telling him half-joking that it was alright if he liked Harry, we'd support it, and he flat out denies it like it was the craziest thing I'd ever said. But then all the sudden, he gets this look on his face and starts letting out a string of curses. Harry chose then to come out then, still wet from the shower, and Louis just swears one more time before ending the call.

"Instance two: Louis likes to drink. I'm Irish, y'can do the maths. But if you get drunk Louis started talking about Harry, he doesn't stop." Niall pitches his voice, "'Haz brought me brekkie in bed this morning, isn't he amazing' 'Harry wants a cat, we're touring in a month for fuck's sake' and 'Hey! You know who'd really like this party? Harry. Let's call, Harry!'"

"Lies!" shouts Louis, but Niall pays him no mind.

"So I said to him, 'Geez, why haven't you husband-ed him already?' And he said 'Huh' like with all the talking about the future they do, he hadn't realized it was an option. An' what do you know? Three months later, two almost proposals and they were engaged.

"And so, that's the story of why, I, Niall James Horan, am directly responsible for the greatest wedding this century." He pulls the microphone down before adding quickly, "Sorry, Zayn. Over and out." He drops the mic, before quick snatching it up again just as it clatters on the ground. "Oh wait, wait, I'd like to propose a toast," he says, brandishing his drink with his free hand.

He waits for everyone to raise their glasses as well.

"To the Tommo, the funniest guy I know, an absolute lunatic, and to the man previously known as Mr. Styles, equally fantastic, charming, and weird. There hasn't been a pair as dedicated to a relationship and to each other as they are. If this isn't love, then fuck me if I know what is. Cheers, mates. "

 ✦ ✧ ✦

"Being the older sister, you learn to look out for your brother. When I was in primary, that meant making sure Harry didn't cross the street alone. When I was older, that meant making sure he wasn't picked on in school, but when I was seventeen, that meant dealing with Teenage Harry Love Drama," Gemma pauses, throwing the crowd an unimpressed look.

"Young Harry Styles was a tiny, scrawny git with weird hair and weirder humor, not so different from now, but the girls of Holmes Chapel went absolutely bonkers over him. The boys too, but as much as he thought they were attractive, Harry was positive the love of his life would be a girl, so he didn't pay them any much mind."

At the front table, Louis cackles in glee and pinches his groom's already pink cheek as Harry half-heartedly swats at him.

"Safe to say I had a bit of experience by the time Harry called me from the X-Factor house and said 'Gems, I might be in trouble.'"

She brings her pitch back up from the deep voiced imitation, "Naturally, I was picturing him addicted to drugs or in an underground fight ring, but he just goes, 'Like, I might be a bit crazy because I'm a bit gone for one of my bandmates.' Oh," she rolls her eyes. "That kind of trouble."

She raises her hand as if it's a telephone next to her ear. “'I thought it might’ve been just, like, that he was here all the time when we were at the bungalow, thought it would get better when we were outside of our little bubble, but he’s here, and he’s always around, and it’s gotten worse.'”

"Gems," the real life Harry groans. "Please stop."

"Continue please!" Louis crows.

She carries on with a grin, her voice still pitched low, "'He's mental and he's hyper and I just might be in love with him.'"

Harry groans again, hiding his face in his hands. She drops her hand with a grin.

"Now, the first time I met Louis, I remember saying what a polite, nice, quiet boy he was, wondering what Harry had been on about." The crowd laughs. "Even if I was wrong on that front, I still I remember looking over at the two of them and thinking that it made sense that they clicked. Since then, I've tried a dozen times to pin down why they make so much sense, but the closest I can come to it is that Harry is Harry and Louis is Louis and that's how it was supposed to be." The audience collectively aww's, and Gemma bows her head in agreement before lofting her flute of champagne.

"I'd like to raise a toast to Harry, for making sure I didn't have to worry about my baby brother marrying before me because I already kind of knew he would, and Louis for loving and looking after this lovable oaf this long already. Here's to many happy years. Cheers."

Harry captures his sister in an embrace as she steps down from the stage and presses a kiss to her temple. The audience coos again while at her table, Anne dabs her eyes at the sight her children make.

✦ ✧ ✦

“So me and Liam were asked if we wanted to give our own speeches tonight, but I, uh, swore a long time ago that I’d never give a wedding toast, and Liam offered to make the slideshow instead,” he nods at the screen behind the stage that has been flipping through pictures of Harry and Louis across the years. “I’m keeping my promise, so don’t get your hopes up, but these two mean a lot to me and the missus, and I heard this song on the radio back in the day. It’s still, like, pretty fitting, so uh, congratulations, Mister Tomlinson and Mister Tomlinson. This one’s for you.”

He nods to the guitar player who counts in and begins to strum.

“Can't count the years on one hand that we've been together.” He begins, bobbing his head in a slow, steady beat. “I need the other one to hold you…”

Most of the audience wouldn't recognize the song even if Paramore themselves were playing it in its full pop-punk glory, but the way Zayn strips it down into a heartfelt acoustic performance brings a third of the audience to tears.

"…Yeah, I'm still into you," he finishes, the guitar strumming one last time.

Louis is the first one out of his seat barreling forward to catch him in a hug and whispers his thanks fiercely into his ears, his husband not far behind him as the rest of the hall whoops and hollers.

 ✦ ✧ ✦

Although they'll have to change cars a few turns away, the couple still grins and waves from behind the painted “Just F*cking Married” painted on the windshield. The cameraman pans away to two women clutching at each other's arms, their own husbands standing dutifully at their sides. “Now, family of the grooms, any closing words or thoughts for the happy couple?”

“Why’d you make us wait so long?” Jo wails.

“I just can't believe we're family now!” Anne clutches Jo's arms and looks at her with sparkling eyes.

"Our babies, all grown up!" The two dissolve into happy tears.

Just behind them, Gemma shakes her head at the camera before raising her champagne flute and downing the rest of it.

Robin speaks up diplomatically, “We’re just happy we can finally toss out the wedding magazines that have been littering our house for the past year.”

“And we’re happy for them,” Daisy pipes up at Jo's elbow. She considers the camera. "For you guys?"

"So happy for the both of you," Phoebe confirms, nodding.

“The ceremony was lovely,” Lottie pitches in.

“Very them," Fizzy agrees. "You could’t’ve asked for a better wedding.”

"Any advice for married life?"

"What, from two previously divorced women?" Jo asks. The women chuckle together, still wiping at their mascara.

"I think they'll have it under control," Dan says.

"Take care of each other," Anne raises her eyebrows meaningfully at the camera.

"Listen to each other."

"Love each other."

“Just plain don’t muck it up, boys,” Robin cuts over the Tomlinson girls and points to the camera seriously, breaking into a grin.

"Enjoy the honeymoon!" Daisy calls, waggling her eyebrows, while the rest of them break into laughter.

 

 ✦ ✧ ✦

 

The first chords of their wedding song piping through the speakers just as the picture switches to the end card of their wedding video.

“I can’t believe it’s been a year already,” Harry breathes. Louis adjusts himself on the couch to face his spouse.

“Love, it’s been seven, really. We were practically married from the get-go.”

“And I'm still into you," he croons, curling even further into his side.

Louis tugs on his curls, “Mhm, and I don’t think we’ve mucked it up yet, do you, Mr. Tomlinson?”

“I don’t believe we have, Mr. Tomlinson.” They grin at each other before Harry bites his lip and leans over the arm of the couch.

“What about you, Baby Tomlinson?” He coos down into bassinet that they had dragged into the living room for the occasion. “Think we’ve done alright?”

The baby doesn’t respond, just gurgles slightly in her sleep.

They both take it as full-hearted agreement.

 

**Author's Note:**

> A few quick notes:
> 
> Zayn sings the song Still Into You by Paramore at the reception. The song was the primary idea behind the fic, and yes, it was absolutely self-indulgent to include it, but Youtube has some great Still Into You acoustic covers that really guided the idea of Zayn's version would be like. I'd highly recommend doing a search because not only are there some lovely artists out there, but they'll give you a better idea as to what I was picturing than whatever nonsense I typed up there.
> 
> Second, there may be some confusion with the time jumps and perspective switches, so if anything needs clarification or you notice an error, please let me know! (In the same vein, I am a silly American that did not bother getting this britpicked, so if you notice any obvious Americanisms that should be fixed, again, drop me a line.)
> 
> And last but certainly not least, the biggest shoutout goes to Ashley the birthday girl! Not only was this written as her gift, but this fic would not have developed into what it is without her. Happy birthday, dearie!


End file.
